Welcome to Introduction to Psychology! Psychology is a dynamic discipline that permeates throughout our lifespan and activities. This class is dual credit, meaning you will be receiving high school and college credit.

With that being said, this is a college level class; there will be in-class discussions, activities, papers, and exams. This webpage will have important documents for you to use, therefore, please check this site daily. Please be sure to ask Ms. Taylor any questions you may have so you can have a successful semester.

• Be able to define stress and stressors
• Eustress vs. Distress
• 7 Categories of Stress
• Have a general idea of what each is or at least an example for each
• How can stress impact a person's health?
• Have an idea of the General Adaptation System (GAS)
• Ways people cope with stress
• Therapy-what is it and how can it help with stress related issues?

• Sensation vs. Perception
• Top Down Processing vs. Bottom Up Processing
• Knowing the 5 senses and receptors
• Sensory adaptation and gate-control theory
• Steps of Perception
• Selection
• Organize
• Interpret

• Consciousness
•   When are we in control and when are we not in control?
• Levels of Awareness
• High, Middle, Low
• Altered Levels of Consciousness
• Controlled vs. Automatic Processes
• Circadian Rhythms
• What are the sleep stages?
• Evolutionary/Circadian Theory
• Repair/Restoration Theory
• Awareness of issues related to lack of sleep
• Psychoactive Drugs
• How can they affect a person?

• Define learning
• Know the different types of learning theories discussed, including their parts:
• Evolution
• Tast aversion, biological preparedness and instinctive drift
• Classical Conditioning
• Neutral stimulus, unconditioned stimulus, unconditioned response, conditioned stimulus, conditioned response
• Operant Conditioning
• Reinforcement and punishment
• Cognitive-Social
• Cognitive: insight, cognitive map, latent learning
• Social: attention, retention, reproduction, motivation

• Define Memories
• Memory Models
• Encoding, Storage, Retrieval Model
• Levels of Processing Model
• Parallel Distributed Processing
• Traditional 3 Stage Memory Model
• Parts of Long Term Memory
• Explicit/Declarative Memory-Semantic & Episodic
• Implicit/Nondeclarative Memory-Procedural, Classically Conditioned & Priming
• Can memories be Flawed?
• Forgetting Theories
• Decay
• Interference
• Motivated Forgetting
• Encoding Failure
• Retrieval Failure
• Factors of Forgetting
• Misinformation Effect
• Source Amnesia
• Sleeper Effect
• Information Overload

• Thinking
• Components of Thinking: Mental Images, Concepts, and Language
• Concepts: Natural Concepts/Prototypes, Hierarchies, and Artificial Concepts
• Language: Phonemes, Morphemes, and Grammar
• Prelinguistic vs. Linguistic
• Intelligence
• Intelligence Theories: Multiple Intelligence, Triarchic Theory, Emotional Intelligence, Single Intelligence
• Standardization, Reliability and Validity

• Know what each stage is and what approximate age each stage occurs at
  • Know the cognitive, social and physical difference at each stage 
• Controversies revisited
  • Nature vs. Nurture
  • Continuity vs. Stages
  • Stability vs. Change
• Period of the Ovum
• Period of the Embryo
• Period of the Fetus
• Teratogens
• Types of Attachment 
• Parenting Styles
• Ageism
• Stages of Grief 

• Sex vs. Gender
  • What are the differences?
  • Are these flexible terms?
  • What is society's roles?
• Formation of Gender Roles
  • Social Learning Theory
  • Gender Schema Theory
• Gender Identity
• Androgyny
• Sexual Orientation
• Sexual Response
• Sexual Dysfunction
  • How could these affect a person's ABCs? 

• Motivation
  • Theories
    • Instinct
    • Drive Reduction
    • Optimal Arousal
    • Incentive
    • Cognitive
    • Maslow's Hierarchy
  • Types
    • Achievement
    • Intrinsic
    • Extrinsic 
• Emotion
  • Components
    • Biological, Cognitive, and Behavioral
  • Theories
    • James-Lange
    • Cannon-Bard
    • Facial-Feedback
    • 2 Factors 
• Why would these 2 concepts be studied together? 
• Touch on Emotional IQ once again.

• Personality vs. Trait
• What is character?
• Best way to examine personality?
• Trait Theory
  • What do we examine?
  • What is the most common measure of trait theory?
  • Issues with trait theory?
• Psychodynamic/Psychoanalytic
  • What is examined?
    • Levels of consciousness
    • Ego, Id, Superego
    • Defense Mechanisms
  • Issues with this theory?
•  Humanistic Theory
  • What is examined?
    • Self-concept
    • Types of regard
    • Maslow's hierarchy
  • Issues with this theory?
• Social Cognitive Theory
  • What is examined?
    • Self-efficacy
    • Reciprocal Determinism
    • Locus of control
    • Interaction of cognitve, environment and behavioral factors
  • Issues with this theory?
• Biological Theory
  • How the brain, neurochemistry and genetics work together to form personality
  • Issues with this theory?
• How to assess personality
  • Interviews
  • Observations
  • Objective Tests
  • Projective Tests 

• Abnormal Behavior
• History of mental health
• Abnormal Identification
  • 4 Ds: Deviance, Dysfunction, Distress, and Danger
• What is the DSM and what are its strengths and weaknesses?
• Familiarity with the 5 Axes
• Disorders
  • Anxiety Disorders
  • Depressive Disorders
  • Bipolar and Related Disorders
  • Schizophrenia and other Psychotic Disorders
  • OCD and Related Disoders
  • Dissociative Disorders
  • Personality Disorders
    • There are other disorders in the DSM, but we won't be getting too in-depth with them, but I will highlight a few that will be important to know

• Social Psychology
  • Categories: Social Cognition, Social Influence, and Social Relations
    • Social Cognition
      • Attributions
      • Self-serving bias
      • Fundamental Attribution Error
      • Attitudes
      • Cognitive Dissonance
    • Social Influence
      • Conformity
      • Obedience
      • Group Processes
    • Social Relation
      • Prejudice and Discrimination
      • Aggression
      • Altruism
      • Interpersonal Attraction